Variable rate sinusoidal action machine gun

ABSTRACT

A machine gun in which controlled chamber pressure and weapon recoil, through suitable linkages, connections, and controls, turn a crankshaft to which the breechblock is connected. As a result, the breechblock moves sinusoidally, thereby permitting gentle handling of ammunition, higher firing rates, and positive firing rate control, from very low to very high rates. The machine gun has at least one barrel, with a breechblock for each barrel.

United States Patent Inventors Jack N. Bender 3089 A Concord, Hill AFB, Utah 8440!; Raymond Lashley, Box 88, Rte. 1, Hooper,

' Utah 84315 Appl. No. 874,195 Filed Nov. 5, 1969 Patented July 27, 1971 VARIARLE RATE SINUSOIDAL ACTION MACHINE GUN l Claim, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 89/130, 89/189, 89/193 Int. Cl F4ld 5/08, F41d 5/10 Field ofSearch 8'9/7, 9, 11,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 319,596 6/1885 Maxim 89/189 1,290,842 1/1919 Mottin 89/11 1,377,236 5/1921 Watson 89/191 X Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. Borchelt Assistant ExaminerStephen C. Bentley Attorneys-Harry A. Herbert, Jr. and Arsen Tashjian ABSTRACT: A machine gun in which controlled chamber pressure and weapon recoil, through suitable linkages, connections, and controls, turn a crankshaft to which the breechblock is connected. As a result, the breechblock moves sinusoidally, thereby permitting gentle handling of ammunition, higher firing rates, and positive firing rate control, from very low to very high rates. The machine gun has at least one barrel, with a breechblock for each barrel.

PATENTED JUL27 lsn SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTOILS Jack Ar Banal-9P BY FAX/ 1mm task-cry ww I v 'w fmzrm l VARIABLE RATE SINUSOIDAL ACTION MACHINE GUN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a machine gun and, more particularly, to a machine gun in which there is sinusoidal motion of the breechblock.

It is to be understood that the term machine gun, as used herein, is intended to mean an automatic gun using small arms ammunition for rapid continuous firing which continues as long as the trigger, or its equivalent, is held in the firing position.

It is also to be understood that the term sinusoidal motion" is intended to be synonymous with sinusoidal action," and the like, and to include sine wave motion.

It is to be further understood that the terms cartridge" and round are interchangeable and synonymous and mean a complete ammunition charge for a weapon.

In a conventional machine gun, after each shot the barrel recoils in its mounting through a short distance, such as fiveeighths of an inch in the 0.30 caliber Browning machine gun, and is brought back to firing position by suitable means, such as spring tension, at the end of the recoil. Through an arrangement of cams and pawls the forward and backward movement of the barrel ejects the cartridge of the round that has been fired and violently forces a round of fresh ammunition into the chamber. The result, therefore, is that there is damage to, and jamming of, rounds of ammunition, primarily because of the violent chambering of the round to be fired. Also, there is damage to spent cartridge cases because of the violent handling during extraction from the firing chamber. Additionally, despite any skill acquired by the user (i.e., the gunner), the

rate of fire of a machine gun cannot be varied by the user between extremes, such as a very low rate of fire and a very high rate of fire (i.e., there is no controlled, variable rate of fire).

Our invention eliminates, or at the very least, minimizesthe disadvantages of the conventional machine gun; and, thereby, constitutes a significant advancement in the state of the art SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Our invention relates to a controllable, variable rate, sinusoidal action machine gun.

An object of this invention is to provide a machine gun which has sinusoidal action of the breechblock thereof.

Another object of this invention is to permit chambering of the round and extraction of the cartridge case without violent handling.

Still another object of this invention is to permit the user (i.e., the gunner) thereof to vary the firing rate from very low to very high, as he may desire.

These, and still other and related, objects of this invention will become readily apparent after a consideration of the description of the invention and reference to the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view, in diagrammatic form, of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view, in diagrammatic form, of the embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view, in diagrammatic form, of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view, in diagrammatic form, of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As to the Embodiment Shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 In FIGS. I and 2 the same reference characters denote the same components.

In FIG. 1 is shown the plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention. The embodiment shown in FIG. I is gas operated and includes: barrels IIA and 118 having, respectively, muzzle ends 12A and 12B, bleechblock ends 13A and 13B, and therebetween exit ports 14A and 14B; cylinders 15A and 158 open at one end and having, respectively, entrance ports 16A and 16B and exit ports 17A and 17B; gas lines 18A and 1813 having, respectively, gas line control valves 19A and 19B, with one terminus of gas lines 18A and 188 connected, respectively, to barrel exit ports 14A and 14B and the other terminus connected, respectively, to cylinder entrance ports 16A and 16B; cylinder pistons 20A and 20B slideably moveable within, respectively, cylinders 15A and 15B; piston rods 21A and 21B pivotally joined at one end to, respectively, pistons 20A and 20B; connecting rods 22A and 22B pivotally joined atone end to, respectively, the other end of piston rods 21A and 21B; crankshaft 23, having power takeoff 24 and end supports 25A and 25B, pivotally joined to the other end of connecting rods 22A and 22B; connecting rods 26A and 26B pivotally joined at one end to crankshaft 23; and moveable breechblocks 27A and 27B pivotally joined, respectively, to the other end ofconnecting rods 26A and 268.

In FIG. 2 is shown a side elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1. The components of embodiment 10 shown therein include: barrel 11A having muzzle end 12A, breechblock end 13A, and therebetween exit port 14A; cylinder 15A, open at one end and having entrance port 16A; gas line 18A having gas line control valve 19A, with one terminus connected to barrel exit port 14A and with the other terminus connected to cylinder entrance port 16A; cylinder piston 20A slideably moveable within cylinder 15A; piston rod 21A pivotally joined at one end to piston 20A; connecting rod 22A pivotally joined at one end to the other end of piston rod 21A; crankshaft 23A, having power takeoff 24 and end support 25A, pivotally joined to the other end of connecting rod 22A; connecting rod 26A pivotally joined at one end to crankshaft 23A; and moveable breechblock 27A joined to the other end of the connecting rod 26A. Also shown are: connecting rod 228; connecting rod 263; and breechblock 278. As to the Embodiment Shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 In FIGS. 3 and 4 the same reference characters denote the same components.

In FIG. 3 is shown the plan view of another preferred embodiment of the invention. The embodiment 30 shown in FIG. 3 is similar to embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the principal exception that in embodiment 30 the recoil of the barrel is used to turn the crankshaft in sinusoidal motion. More specifically, shown in FIG. 3 are: moveable barrels 31A and 318 having, respectively, muzzle ends 32A and 32B and breechblock ends 33A and 33B; moveable breechblocks 34A and 34B; connecting rods 35A and 35B pivotally joined at one end, respectively, to breechblocks 34A and 34B; crankshaft 36, having power takeoff 37 and end supports 33A and 38B, and pivotally joined to the other end of connecting rods 35A and 35B; and suitable means 39 for loading crankshaft 35, such as an air damper, an oil damper, or electrodynamic braking mechanism.

In FIG. 4 is shown the side elevation view of embodiment 33 of the invention, shown in FIG. 3. The components of embodiment 30 shown in FIG. 4 include: moveable barrel 31A having, respectively, muzzle end 328 and breechblock end 33A; moveable breechblocks 34A and 34B; connecting rods 35A and 35B; and crankshaft 36 with power takeoff 37 and end support 38A.

MODE OF OPERATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As to the Embodiment Shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 When chambered cartridges (not shown) are fired in a machine gun having the mechanism shown in embodiment 10, FIGS. I and 2, the resultant gas pressure from inside barrels 11A and MB forces the gas to flow out of barrels 11A and 11B through exit ports 14A and 14B, and to flow into gas lines 18A and 188. Gas line control valves 19A and 198 control the rate of flow, and the quantity, of gas to cylinders A and 158. With gas line control valves 19A and 198 open in whole or in part, the gas flows into cylinders 15A and 158 through entrance ports 16A and 168. The pressure of the gas in cylinders 15A and 153 causes pistons 20A and 208, which are within their respective cylinders, to move and, thereby, to move and turn crankshaft 23 by the force exerted through piston rods 21A and 21B and connecting rods 22A and 228. When crankshaft 23 is turned the toggle joints, formed by the crankto-block connecting rods 22A and 22B and crankshaft 23, are moved off the zero cranking angle, i.e., top dead center or TDC," thus unlocking breechblocks 27A and 278. Because the breechblocks 27A and 27B are coupled thru connecting rods 22A and 228 to crankshaft 23, and because breechblocks 27A and 27B are being driven by the motion of crankshaft 23, breechblocks 27A and 27B move in a sinusoidal action. Thus, when crankshaft 23 and connecting rods 22A and 22B are at TDC" the breechblocks 27A and 27B are momentarily stopped and the breeches 13A and 13B are effectively closed and locked. As crankshaft 23 continues to turn, the breechblocks 27A and 27B move very slowly for several degrees after TDC and gain velocity smoothly to their maximum velocity, which occurs when a particular crank of the crankshaft 23 is at 90 to a line thru the bore of barrels 11A and 118. From this point to bottom dead center, i.e., position of zero cranking angle with the breechblock farthest from the breech or BDC, the breechblocks slow to a gentle stop, then start immediately to return to the TDC" position.

The resultant relatively gentle action of breechblocks 27A and 278 makes possible less wear and tear on the cartridge (not shown) as it is picked up, chambered, fired, extracted, and ejected.

The rate of fire can be controlled and varied by varying the rate of flow, and the quantity, of gas from barrels 11A and 118 to pistons 15A and H8. This is accomplished by varying the opening of gas line control valves 19A and 19B.

lt is here noted, and stressed, that although embodiment 10 is shown as having two barrels 11A and 118, an equally suitable embodiment could have only one barrel or a plurality of barrels in excess of two.

As to the Embodiment Shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 Embodiment 30, H68. 3 and 4, operates in a manner similar to embodiment 10, FIGS. 1 and 2, with the exception that weapon recoil, i.e., recoil of the rnoveable barrels in this instance, provides the power to turn the crankshafts 31A and 3113 in sinusoidal motion.

The rate of tire can be controlled and varied by suitable means, such as the use of an air damper, an oil damper, or an electrodynamic braking mechanism 39, FIG. 1.

As in the case of embodiment 10, FIGS, 1 and 2, although embodiment 30 is shown as having only two barrels 31A and 318, it could have any number of barrels, including only one.

While there has been shown and described the fundamental features of our invention, as applied to two preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that various substitutions and omissions may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, a nozzleand-cup may be used in place ofa piston, such as 15A, FIGS. 1 and 2.

What we claim is:

1. In a machine gun having at least one barrel with a muzzle end, a breechblock end, and an exit port in the wall thereof, and with the machine gun having a breechblock for each barrel, the improvement comprising:

a. a connecting rod pivotally joined at one end to each breechblock;

b. a crankshaft which is pivotally joined to the other end of said connecting rod, with said crankshaft having a power takeoff near one end and supported at each end by suitable means;

c. another connecting rod, one for each breechblock,

pivotally joined at one end to said crankshaft;

d. a rod pivotally joined at one end to the other end of said other connecting rod; e. a piston pivotally connected to the other end of said rod;

f. a cylinder closed at one end and open at the other end, with said piston slideably rnoveable within said cylinder, and with said cylinder having an entrance port and an exit P g. a gas line with one end affixed to the exit port in the wall of the barrel and with the other end affixed to the entrance port in the cylinder;

h. and, a gas line control valve suitably interposed in said gas line to control the flow of gas from the barrel to said cylinder;

whereby the breechblock is caused to move sinusoidally. 

1. In a machine gun having at least one barrel with a muzzle end, a breechblock end, and an exit port in the wall thereof, and with the machine gun having a breechblock for each barrel, the improvement comprising: a. a connecting rod pivotally joined at one end to each breechblock; b. a crankshaft which is pivotally joined to the other end of said connecting rod, with said crankshaft having a power takeoff near one end and supported at each end by suitable means; c. another connecting rod, one for each breechblock, pivotally joined at one end to said crankshaft; d. a rod pivotally joined at one end to the other end of said other connecting rod; e. a piston pivotally connected to the other end of said rod; f. a cylinder closed at one end and open at the other end, with said piston slideably moveable within said cylinder, and with said cylinder having an entrance port and an exit port; g. a gas line with one end affixed to the exit port in the wall of the barrel and with the other end affixed to the entrance port in the cylinder; h. and, a gas line control valve suitably interposed in said gas line to control the flow of gas from the barrel to said cylinder; whereby the breechblock is caused to move sinusoidally. 